St Bernadette's Primary School
NEWSLETTER | TERM 1 | WEEK 0 | 29 JANUARY 2021
Message from Geordie
Hello St Bernadette’s families and welcome back to 2021!
My name is Geordie Thuijs and for those of you who haven’t caught up with the news, I have been appointed as the Principal here at St Bernadette’s. I am very excited about leading this community into the years ahead and working closely with the families, staff and kids. You will see me out and about the school often, so please don’t hesitate to come up and say hello - I’m keen to get to know you and our community!
It has been a busy school holiday break, but a good one. I have enjoyed meeting with the staff, including our two new Assistant Principal’s - Lisa King and Melanie Resuggan. We are all keen on providing a calm, organised, engaging and fun beginning to the term for every child.
About me
I am married to Nicole and have twins (George and Audrey) who are five years old. I was born in Perth and grew up in the Pilbara and Kimberley in my early years. My family came back to Perth later in my primary school years and I attended CBC high school and later Edith Cowan and Notre Dame Universities. I really enjoy the outdoors - surfing, triathlons, boating, cycling and camping trips away with the family. I think I am a pretty good cook and am known to be holding a cold beer whilst sautéing my onions. I am a passionate educator, and committed to building quality relationships with students, parents, staff and the wider community.
A few of my beliefs
- Students who are happy and enjoy coming to school learn best. Please let us know if there is anything going on at home or school that we need to be aware of, and we will do the same.
- All students need to feel safe, valued and respected in their school environment. It is a shared responsibility and is one of our daily goals.
- A calm, fair, consistent and respectful approach to behaviour management works best and that a close home /school partnership enhances the possibilities of success.
- Students need a variety of different learning opportunities to enrich their learning, and such areas like technology, music, drama, or art are vehicles that make activities fun and engaging.
- Teachers need to commit to differentiating the curriculum to meet every student at their point of need.
Meet Fred
Fred is my dog (featured in the photo above) and he has six years of experience working with children in Catholic schools. Fred has excellent skills in helping to calm children and provides a healthy distraction when needed. He will be around the school with me. Please let me know, with an email through admin, if your child has a serious allergy or fear of dogs and I will ensure that the situation is managed. Otherwise, the children are welcome to come and say hello to Fred and get to know him.
Communication
In any large school community, keeping the lines of communication open, clear and respectful is vital to ensuring the school runs effectively. We will do our very best to ensure all important information for families appears in the weekly newsletter which will continue to be sent out via email each Friday.
Additional emails and group text messages will be reserved for important or urgent individual announcements. It is hoped that this will streamline communication for families, while helping us to continue to stay well connected. Our teachers will continue to use the SeeSaw App to keep parents informed about what is happening in classrooms and we will use our St Bernadette’s Facebook Page to share snapshots of some of the awesome things happening in our school.
New Staff at St Bernie's
As you know we have a new Leadership team here at St Bernie's, with Mrs Lisa King and Mrs Melanie Resuggan joining the team as Assistant Principals.
We are also really excited to welcome a few new staff members here in 2021.
Mrs Dannielle Crawford Year 1R
Mrs Nila Poasa Year 2B
Mr Cormac Murtagh Phys Ed
Mr Michael Mossdans Education Assistant
Mr Brendan Collins Maintenance
COVID
As you will be aware, WA is still in Phase 4 of COVID which means physical distancing is still required in the school environment. While this situation continues to present schools with challenges in terms of parent participation onsite, please know that we will continue to do our best to work within the guidelines, keeping the community safe, whilst also aiming to promote a sense of belonging and connection. Specific information on Week 1 is below.
A final note
As you can imagine there is much for me to learn, discover, discuss and work towards in coming months. The year will be primarily about forging relationships whilst getting a good picture of where the school’s strengths lie and where there is room for change, improvement and growth.
I wish all families a really great year and thank you in anticipation of your support and encouragement!
Geordie Thuijs
Principal
School starts on Monday 1st February
Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we are unable to accommodate all parents in classrooms at the same time. Unfortunately, we do ask that there is only ONE adult per student in each class and no more than 10 parents in a classroom at any one time.
Kindy and Primary parents – could you please wait outside the door; read the notice boards and follow teacher’s direction.
Year 1 parents - could you please wait outside the classroom’s external doors and wait for the teacher’s instructions, please do not enter the corridors/wet areas.
Year 2 to 6 parents – could you please ensure all stationary is in a box/bag with your child’s name clearly marked. Parents and students are to wait outside the classroom’s external doors for teacher’s instructions, please do not enter the corridors/wet areas. Once you have had the opportunity to help your child take in their stationary, we do ask that you say goodbye relatively quickly, to allow other parents to do the same.
Kiss and Drop will be operating as per normal. There will be staff there to assist students with their stationery and bags.
Please be advised that supervision commences at 8.15am and concludes at 3:25pm. It is strongly advised that you do not drop your children off before this time as there is no supervision and duty of care. As staff have commitments after school, parents will be contacted if their children are not collected by 3:25pm. When children arrive at school they are to sit in the undercover area and either chat with their friends or read quietly. Students will not be allowed on their devices.
Welcome to Pre Kindy and Kindy
HUGE Welcome to our Pre-Kindy and Kindy students
Here at St Bernadette’s we know that the first day of school is a big deal for students and parents alike. There are new people to meet and routines to learn. Sometimes there are a few tears but in our experience these turn to laughter very quickly. We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new Pre-Kindy and Kindy parents and all of our staff are looking forward to getting to know you this term.
Welcome to new starters in other years
A very big welcome to Avaya in PPB, Hugo in Year 1R, Jax, Noah, Haylee and Marlee in Year 2B, Jesse in Year 2R, Emily, Esme, Lucy and Evvie in Year 3B, Larnie, Tanaya, Aldo, Willow and Ridley in Year 4R, Raelyn and Angus in Year 4B, and Morgan in Year 5B.
Canteen Term 1
School Term Dates 2021
Term 2 Monday 19/04/2021 - Friday 02/07/2021
Term 3 Tuesday 20/07/2021 - Thursday 23/9/2021
Term 4 Monday 11/10/2021 - Friday 10/12/2021
Pupil Free Dates 2021
Friday 04/06/2021
Monday 19/07/2021
Monday 16/08/2021
Monday 24/09/2021
Term 1 2021 Calendar
St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School
Email: admin@stbernadettes.wa.edu.au
Website: https://stbernadettes.wa.edu.au
Location: 252 Grand Ocean Boulevard, Port Kennedy WA, Australia
Phone: (08) 9593 4066
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stbernadettescps/